I wish I had an answer for you. Poor baby must be in such pain. It seems like a guessing game for vets since pets can't communicate.
Did the vet have your permission to videotape your dog? I'd be furious if my dogs vet did that without asking.
I hope you get a cure soon.

Your post started sounding like my dog, but your dog got worse than mine was. I'll tell you my story, just so you can compare. My dog has a recurring limp in a front left leg. The vet tried his hardest to even make my dog wince, but my dog was stoic, so he never found out exactly what was causing it. We stopped all agility activities and I started giving him Cosequin (later Glycoflex 600). The vet also gave me some meds for his pain, but I seldom need them anymore. The only time he flairs up is when I notice that he's not eating his supplements. Additional background, I had his elbow and hips x-rayed for the OFA. My vet told me everything looked fine. Boy was I surprised that the results from the OFA were, Degenerative Joint Disease, Moderate Hip Dysplasia, and mild and moderate Elbow dysplasia. My guess is that he was worked too hard and too young (before I got him he was being trained for police work), since dysplasia doesn't necessarily have to be a genetic condition. We still practice agility, but I keep the jumps low unless we're competing, plus I watch him for signs that he's had enough for one day. I also keep the pain meds handy. I hate to take away something he loves so much just because he might get a little achy.

We signed something admitting him to the "hospital", I was so upset I didn't read it thoroughly. There may have been something in that about videotaping, I don't know.

Our dog is pretty stoic, also. He only really "complains" when someone is manipulating his leg. Since we know his personality, we can just tell when he doesn't feel. He's not as active or sociable. He also doesn't eat as much when he's feeling poorly.

Please pray that these antibiotics will work for him! The next step will be an $800 MRI and/or exploratory joint surgery.

I hope Shorty feels better soon. I think it would have been more appropriate for the vet to ask your permission before using Shorty in his segment, but you never know who will see it and might be able to offer up ideas. Unlikely I know, but stranger things have happened.

A few years back my dog developed a terrible limp in her front leg and we never did figure out the why of it. It lasted for the better part of a year and then just disappeared. One thing she really loved was to have a hot damp towel wrapped around her leg once or twice a day. Moist heat works better than something like a dry heating pad. We also used epsom salts in the hot water that we dipped the towel into. The heat probably feels really good, and it also promotes healing since it brings blood to the heated area.

Good luck to you and Shorty.

Contact an Acupuncturist. And ask the vet about putting your dog on St Josephs for Children asprin. Pain control is important, if you can massage the leg to help the muscles, use a heating pad and make certain your dog has a padded bed to lay on and is not just laying on the hard floor. Good luck in your search to help your dog. Sorry you felt your vet was not doing the best for you or your dog.

Ask your vet about this: Idiopathic polyarthritis

Quote: ***This group are all the inflammatory diseases causing arthritis where no common feature or cause can be found. They can be divided into four groups but have few common denominators. Causative factors can be neoplasia (cancer), gastrointestinal disease, infections elsewhere in the body and other types of immune complex disease. What this indicates, is that if arthritis occurs along with other disease problems, there may be a link between them. An open mind must be maintained!***

A Neurologist diagnosed my dog, who had similar symptoms. I spent over a year trying to find a vet that could diagnose and treat her problem. A high dose of Pred., for a short period of time, was the treatment.

A couple of years later she developed IBD and showed signs of immune deficiency.

Update on Shorty: The vet sent us home with 3 different meds--a pain pill, a med like Rimadyl (can't remember name, Daramax, or something like that), and an antibiotic. He thinks Shorty has a joint infection.

Shorty has been laying around a lot (pretty typical, lol), but last night he was pretty fiesty, even playing some with his toys. Today we noticed he is putting his affected paw on the floor some! The vet told me to manipulate his leg to see if it's painful for him. I did that, and it doesn't seem to be.

We are so encouraged that they have found his problem and he is now on the mend. Thanks for all the great advice/support here!

No advice to offer, just wanted to say I hope the problem is solved. Poor Shorty had a difficult time & so did you.

I just started my 12 y.o Border Collie on Deramaxx a couple of months ago and he's doing quite well. It's a fairly new non-steroidal pain reliever so my vet at the blue cross animal hospital didn't have much of a history on it other than other owners had been happy with it. It's safe to use selectively and you can break the tablets in halves or quarters. I now find he doesn't even need it everyday and I give him no more than 1/2 a 100g. tablet occasionally. Plus it's cheaper than the other brands around here.

I do wish more vets would consider tickborne diseases when they see limping. A complete tick panel would cost less that the continued negative x-rays and hit or miss drug therapy.

The vet did say the infection could have been caused by a tick bite. We have had him over a year, though, and have never seen a tick (or even a flea) on him.

There are a couple of things that really got my attention about this post. Basically, I think Cynthia hit it on the head, I'll just expand on it.

First of all I had a dog Shepard/Lab for 14 years. She had numerous issues since I adopted her at 9 months. Because of all of her issues, I learned a lot and, also became furious with veterinarians for not curing things. (Once I was so mad, I almost lost my dog and I almost put my cell phone through a window, and Im considered a very calm person) I am now on my 8th vet in 15 years.

You mentioned a tick bite. I noticed that Cynthia mentioned this. I don't believe anyone specifically mentioned Lyme disease. Of the four dogs that I have had over the past 15 years, two have had it. One was easily diagnosed, the other was not. The one that was not (Anela) was horribly emaciated when I adopted her at 9 months. To make a long sad story short, the vet that I had, originally diagnosed her with a brain tumor and started rattling off numbers about what it would take etc. etc. All of this within a few days after I got the dog!

Even though the vet new Anela's history (she came from West Virginia, where there is a very high rate of Lyme) he originally did not do the test (that by the way would have only cost $35.00). It was only after I spent about $300.00 for a mis-diagnosis and I consulted two other vets that I trust but can't retain, did the Lyme test get done. Guess what, she had Lyme. Pills fixed the problem.

My point with this is not all vets recognize Lyme and the symptoms. I have discovered that any type of joint pain could be Lyme. In my case, Anela could not eat, even though she looked like a walking skeleton because her jaws hurt. I couldnÂt even touch them. No other symptoms were there.

The other thing that got my attention was the medication that you initially started with. I learned the hard way (because I almost lost another dog) to quiz the vet thoroughly about what is going on. I want to know what he/she is doing and why. If the process seems to involved, I research the subject and consult with other vets who can educate me. Most importantly, I want to know how long the medication is going to take to fix the problem. There should be an easy direct answer to this. If there is a hesitation, then I would say I need to research the problem before anything is done.

Unfortunately, I have not had a good experience with vets. I had numerous occasions where I felt like they saw me as an open wallet walking through their door. You spent $400.00! That's a lot of money. (although I always say that money is not the real issue, but to an extent it is).

Also, people with pets are at a disadvantage when it comes to their sick pets. When it happens, we usually don't know anything about the problem and rely on someone who supposedly does. For this reason, unless there is what I term "a life threatening situation" such as severe vomiting, I assume that itÂs a minor thing. If there is a major thing, I probably will wind up at the emergency clinic.

If you haven't already, I would research any topic you can find about what your dog is going through. Quiz the vet, and take the upper hand in this. I think the process of getting your dog cured is dragging on for to long. It should have been fixed by now, unless there is something seriously wrong that requires surgery. (for all you know it could be something minor).

Fortunately I now have a wonderful vet. When I first called her, she answered the phone. I have sent numerous people to her, everyone loves her. She is the only vet in the clinic, something I really like. She is never rushed and has helped me through numerous issues.

Good luck!

Keep us posted!

SG

Cynthia & SG -- Thanks for the tick disease info. Our vet said that the ticks in our area don't cause Lyme disease, but now, I know I'll have to look into infections etc. I'm going to research ticks.

Summerday and KG4 -

There are other TBDs besides Lyme. Erlichia, Babesiosis, and RMSF (Rocky Mt Spotted Fever.) If your pet was adopted, he/she may have been infected and gone through the initial phases and into dormancy before you adopted him/her.

I'm not saying this IS the problem that your dogs have, it just seems that only vets in the south are sensitive to this. Lots of TBD dogs are being (mis) treated for epilepsy, arthritis and other diseases they DON'T have because the vets are 'baffled' and guessing, but don't run a full tick panel. Snap tests may not be sufficient.

Cynthia, We didn't know when we agreed to adopt our latest dog thru petfinders, that she was in the USA - we are in Canada. When we got her she had 5 ticks, 1 was large. I felt a large bump near her neck, on the ride home as I soothed her, after the drop-off. DH removed four with a tick remover which he had previously purchased from the vet for our other two. He likes to take them hiking. He was comcerned about the huge bump & tick near her neck, so he called the vet to bring her in & was told to remove it & apply antibiotic ointment. I was at work, but he told me it was gross & painful for the dog (and him, too, I think).
So far, there are no problems but I wonder if there could be some down the road. You seem to know so much about this, & I would really appreciate it if you would suggest sources for more information

Hello. I have a 4 year old German Shorthair that injured her shoulder and the tendon. She has been under a vets care for it. After a number of treatments she tore here tendon just before scheduled surgury to cut it to releave the pain. The follow up surgery showed more joint damage, The tendon was not repaired. She is on rehab and getting meds and care. But, the vet told me she would likely have to stay on a lead and never be allowed to run free or hunt. After $4,000 and lot of time and pain for both of us I am frustrated, Apparently amputaion is an option.. that I do not want. Has anyone had experience with this? Suggestions? She is a fine companion, but I fear I will have to put her down when this reaccurs. I am thinking of creating an external support for the shoulder. Thanks for any advice.